Blood Type
lab
Formal Report
ABSTRACT
The experiment that was conducted was meant to figure out which of two possible candidates
was the father of a baby, with a known mother. To figure out which person was the father, blood typing
was used to find out. Samples of blood from the mother, the baby, and the two possible fathers were
taken to use as an indication of the blood type. To find out the different blood types, the blood samples
were combined with a serum that would cause clotting in the blood if it was a certain type, such as A, B,
AB, or O.
INTRODUCTION
Blood is a very peculiar substance, and throughout time it has continued to amaze us, and
infinitely fascinate us. It holds the very key to who we are, how we look, and how we behave. it is what
keeps our bodies alive and moving. Science is still being changed by discoveries on it, and advances in
technology continue to change the way we heal people, and keep them healthy. Blood typing is just one
of the advances made in technology, and is just as important as any other. Specifically, it will be the
topic of this text.
To start off, the history of blood typing does not run as far back you may think. It was first
discovered in 1901, by Karl Landsteiner from Vienna Austria. Before it was discovered it was thought
that all blood was the same. This is why before this time, blood donations sometimes reacted badly,
while others were fine. (Shea, 2010) He Showed that the serum of some people clotted the red cells of
other people, leading to the discovery of the three blood types A, B, and C. (C was later re-named O, for
“Ohne”, the German word meaning “without”) This discovery earned him The Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine . One year later, the fourth , much rarer blood type AB was discovered. these discoveries
made blood transfusions much safer, and opened the door to safer, easier blood donations. (History of
Blood ABO Blood Typing, 2010)
Blood type is determined by a gene located on chromosome 9. The gene is called ABO
glycosyltransferase. To keep it simple, this gene may be said to come in three different forms, meaning it
has three different alleles. These alleles are A, B and O, because each is responsible for a different type
of glycoprotein (antigen). The combination of these three that you inherit from your parents that
determines which glycoproteins (antigens) are in your blood cells and through that, your ABO blood
type. (History of Blood ABO Blood Typing, 2010)The inheritance of blood type from your parents is just
like any other gene. The dominant trait will be expressed, and the different alleles will provide several
possibilities for blood types.
Another important part of blood type is the Rh factor. Basically Rh is a way of showing if you
have Nitrosomonas europaea proteins on the cell membrane of your blood.You are either Rh positive,
and have the proteins, or are Rh negative, and do not have the proteins. Rh negative is the recessive
gene, and is rarer that Rh positive. Rh was discovered by Karl Landsteiner and Alexander Wiener almost
40 years after blood types were initially discovered. The Rh system was named after the rhesus monkey,
because they were the main test subjects in the research to make the antiserum for typing blood
samples. Antiserum is used to test if you are Rh positive or not. If the antiserum clots when mixed with a
sample of your blood, then the subject is Rh positive. The Rh factor can also cause some serious medical
complications. (O'Neil, 2009)“Mother-fetus incompatibility occurs when the mother is Rh- (dd) and
the father is Rh+ (DD or Dd). Maternal antibodies can cross the placenta and destroy fetal red blood
cells. The risk increases with each pregnancy. Europeans are the most likely to have this problem--13%
of their newborn babies at risk.” (O'Neil, 2009)
Blood types also have extensive uses. It is mainly used for blood transfusions, in which case, the
patient has usually lost a significant amount of blood, and is in need of more, but it can also be used to
trace your history and ancestors using blood typing, solve crimes with blood involved, or even prove
who is the rightful mother, or father of a baby by process of elimination, when looking at the alleles. it is
obvious that knowing blood type is vital.
The difference between all of the blood types is mostly just what kind of antibodies are on it.
Antibodies are Y shaped protein molecules on blood cells that provide primary immunity support, by
attacking viruses, and bacterium. A blood has A antibodies, B has B antibodies, AB has both types,
making it the universal Receiver of blood, and O has no Antibodies, making it the universal donor of
blood. (Justcurious55, 2008)
To determine what kind of blood type a person has, usually, the blood is mixed with three
different reagents including either of the three different antibodies, A, B or Rh antibodies. after this is
done, the two are mixed up, and left to settle for a little while. After that, you will start to see if the
substances are clotted, or not. The clotting shows that the blood has reacted with a certain antibody and
therefore is not compatible with blood containing that kind of antibody. The relations of the antibodies
are used to show blood type.
To conclude, Blood types are a fascinating field in science, and new discoveries made about it
continue to revolutionize health care. It is has been a very important aspect of science for centuries, and
will continue to prove to be useful in the future.
Experiment
Materials

Blood type slide

10 toothpicks

Anti-A serum

Anti-B serum

Anti-Rh serum

4 blood samples
Procedure
For this experiment, four single blood type tests were taken, one on Quinn, one on Finn, one on
Puck, and one on the baby. After that, the four samples went through testing for A and B blood
types, assuming that it would be O if neither were posotive. An Rh test was also run on all the
blood samples to determine if it was positive or negative for that protein. This was done by
taking all the designated A samples and mixing it with a drop of an Anti-A serum and so forth for
the B and Rh tests with their anti serums. The goal was to see which blood samples clot or
clump up based on their exposure to the different serums.
Results
Agglutination (+ or -)
Sample
#
Person
1
Quinn
2
Puck
3
Finn
4
Baby
A
B
+
+
Rh
ABO Blood
Type
Rh Blood
Type
Possible genotypes
+
A+
+
IA IA, IA i
+
+
B+
+
IB IB, IB i
+
_
(none)
AB-
_
IA IB
+
O+
ii
Observations: As the experiment was conducted, it was discovered that none of the parents
had the same blood type, which made it easier to Decide who was the father of the baby. As
showed in the table, Quinn’s blood was found A+ because it clotted in the blood type A and Rh
tests.
Puck’s blood was B+ because it clotted in the blood type B and Rh tests. Finn was AB- because
his blood clotted in both A and B blood tests but not in the Rh test. Finally, the baby’s blood type
was O+ meaning that it had neither A or B blood type but did have Rh. Therefore, the father of
the baby could not have been Finn, because he could only have passed on A or B blood, based
on the possible genotypes. Puck on the other could have been the father because one of his
possible genotypes is IB i and one of Quinn’s was IA i, making him the only possible father for
the baby. They are the only ones with a recessive (i) in their possible genotypes giving the baby
both recessive genes and resulting in a type O blood baby.
Conclusion
In the end, Puck turned out to be the father of Quinns baby, because the baby had the similar
blood to Puck, and had no blood that resembled that of Finns. This was obvious evidence that the baby
belonged to Puck.
References
Bibliography
History of Blood ABO Blood Typing. (2010, February 9). Retrieved May 27, 2010, from
www.decodeme.com: http://www.decodeme.com/abo-blood-types-history
Justcurious55. (2008, March 4). The difference between blood types. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from
www.askmehelpdesk.com: http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/biology/difference-between-blood-types190972.html
O'Neil, D. (2009, February 20). Human Blood: Rh Blood Types. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from
anthro.palomar.edu: http://anthro.palomar.edu/blood/Rh_system.htm
Shea, L. (2010). All about Blood Type History. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from lisashea.com:
http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/biology/art14433.html